Showing results by narrator "Melissa Chambers" in All Categories

"This story does not begin on a boat." So commences Alice Pung’s memoir. This is an original take on a classic story - how a child of immigrants moves between two cultures. In place of piety and predictability, however, Unpolished Gem offers a vivid and ironic sense of both worlds. It combines the story of Pung’s life growing up in suburban Footscray with the inherited stories of the women in her family - stories of madness, survival, and heartbreak. Original and brave, this is a girl’s own story that introduces an unforgettable voice and captures the experience of Asian immigrants to Australia.

Headstrong journalist Anna Rothman knows what suicide looks like - her own husband killed himself five years ago. When Elly Swift, an agitated passenger beside her on a train, leaves a locket in Anna's bag before jumping onto the tracks, Anna starts asking questions. But everything points to suicide and the police close the case. However, Anna believes that Elly's fears for Toby, her young nephew who was snatched from St. Stephen's church six months ago, fail to explain the true reason behind Elly's distress.

Taya's inn is under threat. Her father's company has built a five-star resort in Blue Shoal and is taking her business. She renovates the inn as a last-ditch effort to keep it afloat but will finally have to make a decision about whether to hold onto the past or embrace the future. When her father hires a handsome manager for his new resort, Taya wants to hate him but witnesses him do something unexpected that causes everything she thought she believed to unravel.

Charmaine moves to Coral Island and lands a job working at a local florist shop. It seems as though the entire island has caught wedding fever, with weddings planned every weekend. It's a good opportunity for her to get to know the locals, but what she doesn't expect is to be thrown into the middle of a family drama. Penny and Rowan's wedding is coming up fast, and Penny's working too hard to give it her full attention. Rowan's still figuring out what to do with his life when a suggestion from a friend gives them both an idea.

Set on a fictional version of Lilly Mirren's beloved Daydream Island, Queensland, each book follows the lives of four childhood friends and the people they love. They've grown apart over the years but come back together on the island. Get ready to share in the life of the Rushton family and their many island family and friends in this much-loved clean and wholesome beach romance series.

Mary Roberts is an impoverished child living in a council flat in 1950s London. When she and her sister are left at an orphanage by their mother, they don't think their lives can get any worse. Harry Evans is an orphan who finds himself, with Mary and her sister, on board a ship bound for Australia. They're sent to a farm school for children, where abuse and neglect are rife. A journey that will change their lives forever and from which they’ll never return.

Reality, which is the Self, permits of two aspects: the Manifest and the Unmanifest. This treatise elucidates the Manifest Reality as it is. Born from the writer’s first-hand experience of the Self, this work dictates that which has never been heard before. Beginning with the inherent nature and powers of the Soul, which is the Dreamer, Lucidity details the mechanics and laws of Reality to which all are subject. The esoteric qualities of the Deity are explained as both The One and his consort, The Mother of the Self.

Everyone from Philomena's class will be at Toy Universe this Saturday. A silver ticket has been hidden in the store. And whoever finds it wins a mountain of toys! Philomena and her friends have a plan to find the silver ticket. But then Philomena gets stuck looking after her little brother, Tobias. If only she had some magic way to catch up with her friends.... She says the magic words - "I wish!" - but instead of seeing her rocket shoes, she and Tobias have become teeny weeny!

She says that she’s his daughter. Could the shocking claim be true? Beatrice is speechless. It’s something she never expected—a secret daughter. She and Aiden have only just renewed their romance after decades apart, and he never mentioned a child. Did he know she existed? Their budding relationship may not survive a scandal this big. Penny’s brother comes back into her life along with her high school nemesis, his best friend. There’s one rule her brother has always held his friends to—no dating his sister. But she’s an adult now. Does the rule still stand?

Philomena can't wait for school camp. She's sharing a hut with two of her best friends, Angie and Minna, and they'll stay awake all night and whisper. And then Philomena will surprise them with a special midnight feast! But when they get to camp, nothing quite goes to plan. In fact, the whole camp seems like a disaster. Can Philomena's wonderful wonder pen save the day?

Evie's book club friends are the people in the world she relies on most. When one of the newer members finds herself confronted with her past, the rest of the club will do what they can to help, endangering the existence of the bookshop without realizing it. When Charmaine's past comes calling, she reverts to her old way of living—running and hiding. She's not used to having friends. But on Coral Island, everyone is a friend. And this time, Charmaine will find that being part of a close-knit community is the one thing that will save her.

It's been thirty years since the friends graduated from Coral Island State High School, and the class is returning to the island to celebrate. But there will be more people at the reunion than were invited, and someone will leave in handcuffs. When this group of friends finally solves the murder mystery that has dogged them for decades, the revelations uncovered will shake them to the core.

Let’s face it: Our lives change. We transition from single to couple, to young family, to growing family, to empty nester, to retirement. Would you love to live in a home that adapts to different phases of your life, so you’d need to move less often? Is it possible to build such a home? This book teaches you about building concepts and prepares you to thoughtfully design your future home, a home that adapts to different phases of your life, reducing your need to move.

Hi, I'm Philomena Wonderpen. My best friend, George, sometimes calls me Philomena Daydreamer. I looove daydreams. Imagine if you could draw your dreams with a magic pen. What would you draw? A beautiful black horse? A magic carpet? Or even better, would you make yourself the teacher? Then you could boss the whole class! If only daydreams could come true.

Full of suspense, mystery and humor, the books in this series follow Allie as she investigates a number of possibly paranormal events with a mix of logic, intelligence and teenage attitude. Who is writing on the walls? We moved into our new house because Mum liked the vibes. But those vibes turned scary when ghostly writing started appearing on the walls of Bethan's room. Mum tried a few new-age tricks, but couldn't stop the creepy nightmares.

Girl on a Train: Booktrack Edition is enhanced with a musical soundtrack from Booktrack for an immersive listening experience! Journalist Anna Rothman knows what suicide looks like. When Elly Swift, a passenger beside her on a train, leaves a locket in Anna’s bag before jumping onto the tracks, Anna starts asking awkward questions. But everything points to suicide and the police close the case. Anna embarks on a dangerous crusade to find Elly’s killer.

Another deliciously spooky paranormal mystery for Allie's Ghost Hunters to solve, this time at the Jenolan Caves, where something is on the trail of Allie and her family. Who is waiting in the cave?

Who is haunting the cabin? After Eglantine vanished, I thought I was through with ghosts. Then I went on a school excursion to Hill end and found myself investigating a whole bunch of them. First there was the ghost of Granny Evans, pacing around the museum. And Eustace Harrow smashing things up in Taylor's Cottage. But when two of my classmates disappeared, I realized things were about to get serious.

When Princess Glori wishes for a charming prince and he doesn't turn up, she becomes impatient and wishes again and again..."I wish he may, I wish he might, come sailing through though starry night. I wish he is, I wish he be, a charming prince who loves just me." Will Glori ever find her true prince?

In the third Allie's Ghost Hunters adventure, 11-year-old Allie Gebhardt and her Exorcists' Club hold a séance for schoolmate Bettina - and discover, in the process, that there's a strange presence in Bettina's house.